Executive Orders

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Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Jeb Bush Executive Orders, pre-9/11/01

A most compelling piece of evidence that indicates George W. Bush exploited his prior knowledge of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is not stashed away as some classified document but is rather a simple matter of public record.

After vacationing for the month of August 2001 at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, President Bush traveled to Florida to promote his education agenda. Florida Governor Jeb Bush welcomed the visit and used the opportunity to publicize the Governor’s own education initiative. As part of this coordinated effort, Jeb Bush issued an executive order ostensibly to encourage Florida’s children to read. This executive order (#01-260) was issued and announced to the public on September 7, 2001.

The very same day but without the fanfare, Governor Jeb Bush issued a second executive order which gave authority to the Florida National Guard to activate its membership. Among the reasons cited in the document for the action was prophetically “potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism” (Executive Order #01-261, Section 3).

Perhaps it is just coincidence that these executive orders were issued the same day and that just a few days later, George W. Bush would be in his brother’s state where the President would benefit from the additional protection of the Florida National Guard as attacks occurred in New York and Washington, D.C. That is quite plausible because the over arching theme of EO #01-261 purportedly relates to Florida’s problem with being a hub of illegal drug trafficking.

However, what is most startling about EO #01-261 is its predecessor. Executive Order #01-261 concludes by revoking Executive Order #01-17 which is nearly identical to EO #01-261 except for the language addressing “potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism.” Issued on January 19, 2001, EO #01-17 wasn’t to expire until June 30, 2003. This raises the question as to what events occurred on or prior to September 7, 2001 that compelled the president’s brother to replace an existing executive order with another executive order which effectively inserted a reference to “acts of terrorism.” Even if we still chalk this all up to coincidence, it may be of interest to know why the Governor of Florida appears to have had better actionable intelligence than the President of the United States.

One other coincidental oddity is worth consideration. Recall that numerous voting irregularities in Florida on election night 2000 ultimately resulted in the Supreme Court handing the presidency to George W. Bush. With throngs of Floridians still angry over being denied a vote or having had their votes discounted, one might expect some civil unrest in Florida on the day an illegitimate president was to be inaugurated. Hence, it is curious that Executive Order #01-17 was issued on the eve of the presidential inauguration. If this is still coincidence, then Jeb Bush has uncanny timing for issuing orders prior to events that had the potential for major civil unrest – a pattern which continues today as Jeb Bush issues other executive orders prior to the land fall of recent hurricanes.

A more likely scenario is that President Bush’s vacation in August 2001 wasn’t a vacation at all but a planning session, held in seclusion at the Crawford ranch, to determine what to do about the impending terrorist attacks. The options weren’t good.

The administration could try to stop the attacks by clamping down on security and causing major delays in air travel. This would likely be a public relations disaster for a President who, at the time, was becoming increasingly unpopular. Recall the developing Enron scandal, Dick Cheney’s secret energy policy meetings, a tanking economy, and a newspaper consortium about to announce that Al Gore actually won the State of Florida after all the votes were counted.

Another option would have been to put the Air Force on alert and be ready to intercept any hijacked airliners. Even though reports of hijackings could be authenticated, shooting down civilian aircrafts with hundreds of U.S. citizens would result in a public uproar - regardless of any efforts to convince the public of the hijacked planes intended destinations.

Yet another option would be to allow the attacks to happen. No president is more popular than a president acting as commander and chief in a time of national crisis. Citizens would forgive and forget all past sins. As a nation rallies behind the president, the press would at once bend stories toward the favor of the nation’s leader and cease investigating issues critical of the Executive branch. As a bonus, other agenda items would more easily slide through a cowering complacent Congress. The price, of course, is the loss of a few hundred lives - but mostly Democratic voting New Yorkers. Under this scenario, the possibility of collapsing towers may or may not have been considered. However, this option would have to include a plan to ensure the safety of the President when the attacks were most likely to occur. Among the safest places would have to include a remote school in a state governed by the president’s brother who has the power to activate the local National Guard. Of course there would have to be an iron clad cover – because no one must ever, ever find out.

Readers are urged to review and carefully compare the aforementioned executive orders for themselves and draw their own conclusions. Links to the executive orders and the State of Florida website are provided below.